By now a good majority of us know people who take CBD daily,
and even swear by it. One of the biggest
appeals that cannabidiol (CBD) has to offer is the fact that it’s totally
natural. But, sometimes natural isn’t enough.
Maybe you’re on a medication, and you’re wondering if it’s okay to
incorporate CBD into your routine.
Perhaps you’re an avid hemp user who isn’t sure whether or not they need
to stop their daily routine in order to accommodate a newly prescribed
drug. Well, allow us to share with you
everything that we know.
Is CBD Toxic and Can I Overdose from It?
First, let’s get one thing out of the way. CBD is nontoxic to the human body. Why?
Well, because cannabidiol is a “cannabinoid”, and cannabinoids
feed the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS very cleverly stores excess levels of
cannabinoids for later use rather than causing a toxic reaction. This is why there are no known cases of CBD
overdose ever in history.
Can CBD Be Combined with Prescription Medications?
So, does CBD’s nontoxic status mean that it can be
combined with any prescription medication?
Well, we aren’t sure. There are
some things that we do know. One is that
as of now, there haven’t been any reported cases of people running into serious
trouble by consuming CBD along with their prescription meds. That’s good news. However, there are some other things to take
into account before you simply take the two together.
Our bodies produce an enzyme known as “CYP34A”. This enzyme is responsible for breaking down
many of the most commonly prescribed drugs.
CYP34A is imperative, because without it, drugs would stay in our
systems for far longer than they should, which could interfere with dosing and
bodily levels.
The problem is, there are some substances which can
inhibit production of CYP34A. Meaning, these
substances can prevent certain drugs from breaking down in our bodies. So, why is that a problem? Well, let’s say you take a daily dose of
Xanax. We’re aware that excessive levels
of Xanax can be dangerous, which is why we space out our dosing. But, if that Xanax dose that you took today
doesn’t break down properly due to dysfunction of CYP34A, it will still be in
the system when you take your second dose later on in the day, which means that
you could end up with twice the amount of Xanax in your system than was
intended. This can be dangerous as high
levels are linked to toxicity.
So, what does this have to do with CBD? Well, there have been some clinical trials
done showing that CBD has the potential to inhibit this enzyme. These studies need to be conducted on a wider
scale prior to drawing any accurate conclusions. But it’s definitely something
that needs to be kept in mind.
Are There Certain Medications I Should Not Combine CBD with?
We mentioned that CYP34A is
required to break certain drugs down. Knowing
what those drugs are, however, can determine how safe it is to take CBD with
your particular medication. So, how can
you know what drugs those are? Well,
it’s actually quite easy. Many drugs
come with a warning label that suggest a person avoids grapefruit while they’re
actively taking the medications. This due
to grapefruit being a proven inhibitor of CYP34A. So, if your medication bottle says to avoid
grapefruit, you might want to avoid CBD as well.
Drugs that’re known to require CYP34A include
antihistamines, blood pressure medications, blood thinners, benzodiazepines,
immunosuppressants, and pain medications like opioids. There are always exceptions though, so simply
look at the label to know for sure.
How Should I Go About Combining CBD with Prescription Medications
Safely?
Now, we understand if you’re worried about taking CBD
along with a prescription that you have.
The best way to go about it is to simply have a conversation with your
doctor. He or she will be able to help
you determine how safe it is to take CBD while you’re on the medication that
they have prescribed for you. Your
doctor/physician knows better than anyone else the nature of those
prescriptions, and how they will interact with you based on your present
circumstances and your medical history.
Hopefully, they know enough about CBD to be aware of the information
that we have explained above. If they
are not aware, you can ask them to do some research on the topic in order to
provide you with safe and accurate information that you can then apply to your
daily routine. We are not authorized to
tell you whether or not this combination is safe, but your doctor is.
What We Know So Far
As of now, there have been no known reports of people
having severe complications due to combining CBD with a prescription drug. But again, in order to be safe, we urge you
to speak to your doctor prior to combining them. They can consider factors such as your
medical history and dosage levels in order to help you come up with an ideal
solution that’s both safe and effective.
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